How Fiction Becomes Truth

The great painting by Johannes Vermeer, “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” is sometimes called “The Mona Lisa of the North.” I visited it once in The Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. That girl’s gaze will rivet the most impatient viewer.

I had read the popular book on this painting, “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier, and after seeing the painting, I wrote Tracy and told her of my experience. I told her about the man who sat in front of the painting for hours , his eyes glued to those of the girl in Vermeer’s painting.  I assumed the man had read Chevalier ’s historical novel and for him, like for me, that story became the truth about Vermeer and the girl in the painting. Tracy agreed how, especially in the absence of any pertinent historical facts, the fiction becomes fact, the story.  Tracy Chevalier did a masterful  job. Great movie, too.

Writing a historical novel myself on two Rembrandts, it has been an enjoyable task to separate what is known from what is not known and create a compelling story.  I hope to get this published within the near future.

Introducing Fred Andresen

From a lifetime of international business, travel, and life in Asia, Russia, and Europe, a deep interest and experience in intercultural relations has developed and is my base for my sharing as a professional or as a writer. I am asked to speak to MBA classes and professional groups on working with the Russians.

My writings are mainly historical novels set in various times and places. However, my first was non-fiction and based on seventeen years business experience in Russia, six years in residence. I founded (1992) and managed a leading telecommunications company in Russia expanding globally. I enjoyed working with the Russians, finding them intelligent, dedicated, and resourceful.  I am presently on the board of a Russian orchestra and president of the Los Angeles/St. Petersburg Sister City committee. 

Books include:

“Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia” (2007) based on over seventeen years in Russian business. Realistic and humorous.

“Dos Gringos” (coming in Dec 2009) based on a true story of my Norwegian immigrant father’s escapades in the Mexican Revolution

“The Lady with an Ostrich Feather Fan” (2010) the story of the famous Yusupov Rembrandts and those who sought them, and those who protected them.

“The Fabergé Clock” (2010) a action/romance novel set in contemporary Russia.  

An enjoyment of literature, classical music, and art is reflected in all this work.